Villa Markisa - Private Beach Bungalows - Dive Resort

I can't imagine there is a more beautiful resort in Talumben than Villa Markisa. I felt like royalty during my stay, everything is customized to the guest. The few other guests I met during my stay were all lovely and we enjoyed sharing dive stories over meals. The resort is small enough that it almost feels like you have a private resort. I stayed in a Villa and loved the outdoor shower/bathroom setup, the bed was very comfortable. The Bali massage and dive site on-site was incredible. Amazing shore diving steps away and boat dives less than 10 minutes. The highlight of my stay was my amazing dive instructor and dive lead which I had all to myself, they made me feel extremely safe and were so knowledgeable about the sites - an incredible experience I can't wait to go back!

Great resort at Tulamben. Have stayed at Tulamben before but first time at Villa Markisa. The accommodation, food and dive operation are all fantastic. The swimming pool is awesome too.. There are only around 6 rooms so, small, intimate and personal.Having boat diving allows dives at more and different sites.The owner, Christiane, lives on site. It was a pleasure to dine and dive with her.All the staff, diving, restaurant and admin were very attentive and strived to make this a happy, well organised resort.There was an unexpected DCI event while we were there, it was great to see how incredibly well the resort team handled the situation with a good outcome.We will be returning.

"My husband and I spent 6 days at the Villa Markisa Boutique Dive Resort in Tulamben Bali in August 2023. It was our first stay at this resort and we couldn’t have been happier. The grounds of the property were gorgeous, with beautiful bougainvillea and bird of paradise bordering most cabanas, beautiful accommodations with Balinese décor, outdoor showers, varied cuisine choices at every meal, and fabulous muck diving. I can’t say enough about our dive guide, Budi who has x-ray vision! Special thanks to all Villa Markisa staff for their impeccable service.Thank you to all who created an unbelievable experience we’ll always remember!"

We stayed at Villa Markisa in Tulamben in March 2023 after three weeks diving in Raja Ampat and one week diving in Amed, which is just down the road from Tulamben. There was some minor overlap in dive sites between Amed and Tulamben, primarily the Liberty Wreck, but both areas have many close by dive sites.We had pre-booked our five day stay at Villa Markisa, including three days of diving (two tanks per day) through our travel agents, Anne and Scott with Blue Water Dive Travel (who did a great job).Villa Markisa is located in very quiet area. There are very few restaurants within walking distance so we were glad that we had booked the full board package. The food was excellent. We met people who were staying a lot longer than us and no one seemed to be tired of eating at Villa Markisa. The open air dining area is quite elegant.Villa Markisa is a small operation. We got the impression that at least one of the owners is on site most, if not all, of the time. It shows. All aspects of the resort run like clock work including food service, housekeeping, grounds maintenance and the top notch dive operation.We stayed in Room #4. It was luxurious with a comfortable king size bed, a giant bathroom and a nice front porch with a big daybed overlooking the pool and ocean. The internet worked fine for the most part.The on-site dive operation caters to very serious divers and even more serious photographers. While almost all of the other dive operations in Tulamben and Amed offer primarily shore diving, Villa Markisa specializes in boat dives.Villa Markisa has two modern, high speed dive boats. Most the dives are immediately offshore and are typically only a few kilometers from the resort. We find boat dives more comfortable than shore diving so were were happy to see the dive boats after spending a week in Amed doing shore dives (although we are not complaining, the shore diving in Amed was also great).Villa Markisa also specializes in muck diving and blackwater diving. Some of the more serious photographers did mostly muck diving and blackwater diving, both of which are apparently particularly good in the Tulamben area. We usually just did reef dives when the others were doing muck or blackwater diving. Although, the muck diving we did was very interesting.One of the Villa Markisa owners is apparently the lead sponsor of the Mero Foundation which operates a marine biology training center just down the beach from the resort. The center appears to specialize in training young Indonesian women to become PhD level marine scientists. Ask if a tour is possible. We really enjoyed meeting the young scientists.In summary, Villa Markisa is a great option for those looking for world class diving and a high end, all inclusive resort that is easy to reach via the international airport in Denpasar.

Villa Markisa is a gem.8 discreet rooms overlooking the water (so the resort is quiet and not too crowded), a dive center that was top-notch with excellent staff, well appointed rooms with beautiful outdoor showers in most, fantastic food that changes every day, and the most adorable staff we ever came into contact with while traveling.The owner, Christiane, is extremely attentive to the guests' needs and organized a Manta Ray dive day (where we dove for an hour with 20 Manta rays swirling all around us) as well as a last minute excursion to explore the area in a private van with our family--that included silver shops, rice paddies, temples and the Water Palace. This was a highlight!I had a massage almost every day at an open air spa on the premises....We met really lovely people at the resort at mealtimes who were well traveled and loved diving-like us. A very international group.Most of the diving takes place less than a 10-minute boat ride from the resort so it could not be easier.We returned to our "real Lives" relaxed and refreshed.Don't hesitate!

This resort was wonderful! The staff was friendly at all times and any issues that came up were promptly addressed. The accommodations, at least the room we stayed in, were very large with lots of storage for our photographic and other equipment. There is also a dedicated camera room. The food was varied and of high quality, offering several choices at each meal. I think they are on a two week rotating menu there. Breakfast and lunch are a la carte; dinner is buffet style. Plenty of food at each meal was available. There are also snacks available in the afternoon. The grounds were absolutely beautiful. There is a large swimming pool with an ocean view should you choose to take advantage of it.The dive operation was efficient and very helpful. I needed some help getting all my camera gear on to the boat and the guides were nice enough to help carry some of it. I think that they could have given a dive briefing before each dive; they could improve there. The marine life is generally small stuff. If you like macro photography this place is very good - maybe a step below other areas of Indonesia like Lembeh. All of the scuba divers were very experienced; many but not all were underwater photographers.Overall I think this resort earned five stars in my book, and I am not an easy person to please sometimes. I think that Villa Markisa is best suited for serious divers, not families. There is little to do there besides dive. Definitely a place I would return to after the world gets control of the plague.

Villa Markisa is one of the best dive resorts in Bali. I would not be surprised if it were the best, because it is the nicest place I have ever stayed. The grounds are beautiful, the staff are super friendly and attentive and learn your personal preferences during your stay, and the food is phenomenal (vegetarian and non-vegetarian). They make their own delicious bread, and if you are so inclined, you can have fresh fruit with every meal of the day - both small things, but things that make the stay that much more special.The rooms are spacious and comfortable, with air conditioning, big beds and nice mosquito nets. They provide you with a metal reusable waterbottle for your stay, and have water dispensers around the grounds, so you never have to use any plastic water bottles. There is a pool for relaxing, and sunbeds laid out in different parts of the grounds, which are covered in greenery and flowers.The diving is awesome, with great muck dives right off shore (Seraya Secrets) and also available by 5-10 minute boat ride. The USS Liberty, a bucket-list dive site, is less than 10 minutes by boat, and they run 6 am sunrise trips to beat the crowds. There are also some great wall and reef sites for nice wide angle photos. So you really can get a bit of everything. The water is nice and warm, usually quite calm, and strong currents are few and far between.All of the dive staff are very friendly and competent, from the boat drivers to the boat hands to the dive guides. A typical muck dive had us following a continuous trail of cool critters found by our guide. And when I asked "where can we find X", they usually had a good idea, and we saw some great high value subjects: a mototi octo, harlequin shrimp, a mantis shrimp with eggs, a pygmy seahorse, lady bug amphipods, and lots of cool nudibranchs.Topside, there are not a ton of activities available on the resort, but the grounds are fantastic and the spa is nice. They can arrange day trips to explore Bali, and there are lots of cool things to see on the island, including terraced rice paddies and Balinese temples.The bottom line is, you can't go wrong with Villa Markisa, in my opinion it is worth every cent.

We finished up the last leg of a five week diving trip to Indonesia with four nights a Villa Markisa, in Tulamben, Bali. I did not have high expectations of Bali, Bali diving, or the resort that we chose to stay at. BOY WAS I WRONG! We only stayed four nights, and now, I wish it would have been four weeks! Everything about Bali is unique and beautiful, and Villa Markisa and its diving fit right in.Let me start with the diving. I just could not get enough!!!! I chose Villa Markisa for two reasons. 1) It was a five minute boat ride from the USS Liberty wreck and 2) the house reef, Seraya Secrets claimed world class muck diving. The USS Liberty is a once in a lifetime dive. It is not only noted as one of the world’s top wreck dives, but also as one of the world’s best dive sites. The USS Liberty was literally a five minute ride on the super fast and clean Zodiac boats. This is important, because in the later morning, the wreck gets very crowded with divers, who have to be transported several hours from their resorts to dive the wreck. The Liberty dive leaves Markisa at 630 am. This allows divers to be among the first to get to the wreck and beat the crowds. The USS Liberty is covered so close to shore, it is usually done as a shore dive. Villa Markisa drops her divers just about on top of the wreck, leaving more time for diving the wreck and less time for swimming from and to the shore. The Liberty is covered in colorful soft corals surrounded by tons of IndoPacific fishes. It really is a once in a lifetime dive! For those who love wreck diving, this alone may be a reason to stay in Tulamben.The house reef, Seraya Secrets, discovered and named by Christiane (who built the resort on this reef, after she discovered it), is amazing. In four days, I photographed over one hundred different nudibranch species found by our eagle eye dive guide, Dharma, who is as excited as nudis and any macro photographer! We loved the diving so much, that we postponed our scheduled early morning departure for UBUD to the late afternoon so that we could squeak in two more dives!When we were at the resort, we felt that we were in our own private little heaven! At first, we wondered what we would do besides diving, as the resort is very secluded, and nestled between two towns with no tourism. It is so private that there is no sign for it on the road! Our driver got lost several times trying to find it. As we pulled down another dirt road and driveway that lead to nothing, we began to worry. What kind of place was this? A perfect oasis, away from it all! This tiny, Balinese style dive resort has very few rooms. A few quaint bungalows, a large main villa with some guest rooms and one Villa with two units, and a shared open air living area. This is the villa we chose, as we were traveling with another couple. The accommodations could not have been more perfect. Each bedroom was new, updated and beautiful. The beds were so comfortable and each unit had its own outdoor garden bathroom and shower decorated with a lush tropical garden. It was so romantic. I especially appreciated that the air conditioners were efficient and worked perfectly! The shared living area had a sofa, and kitchen with full refrigerator freezer and stocked with beer and soda.The grounds were covered with beautifully manicured Balinese gardens of bougainvillea, tropical palms, and flowering plants. Stone stepping blocks placed in the center of a beautiful koi pond, lead the way to the open aired restaurant. The infinity pool was a perfect place to cool off with a cocktail after a day of diving.When I was in Indonesia, I fell in love with Sarongs. Villa Markisa had the best supply of sarongs I had seen in Bali! They were so beautiful and inexpensive.The Spa was also amazing. We enjoyed several massages, that were priced just right. Balinese women have magical hands.Unfortunately, Christiane was not present when we were there, but her co-owner, Pedro provided utmost hospitality. We still talk about Villa Markisa. In the cold winter we are experiencing now, we often talk about how we wish we could return and stay for an entire winter!!

The Resort: Villa Markisa is a gem! My package was all-inclusive including shuttle from/to the airport, full board, and 3 dives per day. It’s a 2-3 hour ride to the resort from Bali airport. This Swiss-German owned resort is located in northeast Bali (Kubu region) within view of the Mt Batur volcano. The owner did tell me that last year the resort had to temporarily close due to volcano warnings, but Mt Batur is generally not very active. January is the low season so there were only a handful of guests. I was in a Bungalow which was gorgeous – large canopy bed, outdoor patio, garden area with outdoor shower, mini-bar fridge, and air conditioning.The grounds of Villa Markisa are well maintained, the staff is very friendly, and the spa has options for couples massage area or a smaller massage room. Inside the main building is the camera area, and they have plenty of power strips, though you do need to bring an adapter if you are using north american power cords. Breakfast was a 7am, with several options available, lunch was at 12 and was a different menu each day - you selected your lunch during breakfast; dinner was buffet style at 7pm, also with plenty of options – all the food was excellent and plentiful. The coffee was not that good; the wines were limited, but their local wine was fairly decent (grapes from Australia).The Dive Shop: The shop has rinse tanks for gear and one for cameras, and the staff stows the gear at night in locked storage room; each day they set up your gear. Nitrox is available, and my tanks were always full and at a consistent 32%. Since I was there during the off season, I was assigned my own guide. The staff brought my gear and camera to the boat, and you walk into the surf to get on the boat, just a few meters away.The Diving: The typical schedule was Dive#1 at 8am, #2 at 10:30 and #3 at 2:30pm. Night dives were also offered. On one day we had a 6am dive to the Liberty Wreck. Boat rides were usually less than 10 minutes, roll-back entry, and to get back on the boat you handed up weight belt and took off BCD & fins, which the crew pulled up onto the boat. The underwater topography is mostly steep sloped black (volcanic) sand, with sparse corals. The dark sand made for great contrast in filming nudibranchs, and with the sparseness of coral I was able to set up my tripod without impacting the ecosystem. My guide kept finding things I never would have seen, many different colored nudi’s, and some tiny frogfish the size of my pinkie fingernail. We found a couple dozen species, the diversity was very interesting.Overall, this was a great trip – I got to see little critters I’ve never seen, and the topography was perfect for filming. The resort is top notch, beautiful, with well-maintained grounds, and excellent service. Shannon handled all the details of getting me there, and helped me select this resort - I could not have been more pleased. Bluewater Dive Travel exceeded my expectations!